President: Republicans 'entitled' to five more Texas congressional seats

Donald Trump said yesterday that Republicans are entitled to the five extra seats they could pick up if congressional maps proposed by Texas Republicans are passed.

- Kira Lerner Washington, George Chidi and Lauren Gambino Austin

A vote on plans proposed by the White House to aggressively redistrict Texas's congressional lines in their favor were scuppered on Monday by Democrats leaving the state to deny Republicans a legislative quorum - the minimum number of people needed for a decision.

When the legislature gaveled in at 3 pm local time on Monday, Republicans fell short of a quorum by eight votes after Democrats fled to Illinois, a legislative conference in Boston, New York and elsewhere.

In an extraordinary escalation, the state's Republican governor, Greg Abbott, said he had ordered the Texas department of public safety to "locate, arrest and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans".

"There are consequences for dereliction of duty," Abbott said in a statement on Monday, after the Republican-dominated house issued civil arrest warrants in an attempt to compel the return of the members who fled. "This order will remain in effect until all missing Democrat House members are accounted for and brought to the Texas Capitol."

Enforcing Abbott's order will be difficult, however, because Democrats who left the state are beyond the jurisdiction of Texas authorities.